What you eat and how you handle your stress may influence how quickly your hair grays.

Here are five lifestyle shifts to make to help keep your locks gray-free.

But what if you’re not ready to go gray just yet?

A portrait of a woman with grey hair outside

Getty Images / Brooke Schaal Photography

Is there a way to prevent it?

If they flip “off” and go dormant, that’s when balding occurs.

As hair follicles encounter stressors and age, they can begin to produce less color in each phase.

Our genes partially determine when we begin to gray.

Ironically, hair is initially white.

As it’s produced, the body adds natural color in the form of melanin.

Here are a few scientifically supported strategies to prevent or slow the graying process.